Oh, Iyer! Iyerpol! – Chapter 25

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Yuziro
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Wolf Who Chases the Wind.

A wolf beastman adventurer in the form of a werewolf.

He resided in Tillasden, which had a large beastman population, and was considered one of the representative solo adventurers, along with Guinness and Kundt.

He stood two or three heads taller than an adult man, with well-developed, muscular arms and legs.

His silvery-white fur, tinged with a faint blue, appeared incredibly soft, but felt prickly like thorns to the touch.

His powerful jaws were specialized for biting and killing enemies.

His physique, evolved for hunting, was more than enough to kill enemies even without the use of weapons.

He wore little armor aside from vital point protection, finding it cumbersome for movement, but his thick werewolf hide naturally defended against enemy attacks.

He had a bad personality, in a slightly different way than Guinness, prioritizing his own amusement above all else.

He loved to tease others and was always present when something interesting happened.

There were whispers among people that despite being a werewolf, he acted more like a fox.

He had had a bad relationship with Guinness for a long time.

However, according to Wolf himself, it was Guinness who disliked him, not the other way around.

Even though he said that, seeing him tease Guinness, knowing full well she would dislike it, revealed just how bad his personality truly was.

Incidentally, the name “Wolf Who Chases the Wind” wasn’t a nickname, but his actual given name.

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“What in the world is going on?”

I scratched my head as I walked further along the cave path.

Wagner and the others, who had been following behind me, had vanished in an instant, and the path I had just taken was now blocked by a wall.

I wasn’t mistaken.

The path I had come from had literally disappeared.

After pondering what to do, I decided there was no other option and started walking forward along the continuing path.

“Wagner? Hey, Wagner!”

I shouted, hoping they might hear me, but there was no reply.

Only my echo reverberated through the cave.

This was troublesome.

I’d been an adventurer for years, but I’d never encountered such a strange phenomenon.

For the path I had just walked to suddenly change like this…

Actually, in this situation, I was more worried about Wagner than myself.

I had excellent night vision, could find my way, and could handle monsters to some extent, but it was uncertain whether Wagner could navigate this cave.

I was the only one carrying a light source.

“Monsters… Huh? Come to think of it, this is strange.”

After walking through the cave for a while, I couldn’t help but tilt my head in confusion.

At some point, the monsters had stopped appearing.

I had definitely encountered quite a few just a moment ago.

Since realizing the path behind me was blocked by a wall, I hadn’t seen a single monster.

Shouldn’t I have encountered Rotten Rats by now?

Realizing that, I noticed that several things were amiss.

The path was no longer branching, but a straight passage.

Just a while ago, I had seen forks and three-way intersections, but after becoming isolated, only a straight path remained.

This cave… as Wagner had said, something was strange.

The thick energy I felt inside the cave, the strange phenomena I had experienced so far…

And then there was…

sniff sniff

“This smell…”

This sweet scent, which I had smelled from outside the cave, was still lingering.

It was definitely the same smell I had noticed in the forest before reaching the cave.

This smell had been present since then.

Perhaps somewhere in this cave…

As I was pondering the source of this smell, something cool brushed against my cheek.

There was only one thing that could feel cool against my skin in this cave.

“…Wind?”

Wind.

I could feel the wind blowing from outside. And it was coming from right in front of me.

Sensing the wind, I quickened my pace.

After running for about five minutes, I began to see a faint white light in the distance. I ran towards the light…

“…What the…”

I was speechless at the sight that unfolded before me.

The dazzling sun shone brightly in the sky, and the blue sky stretched out above.

Before me lay a lush forest of towering trees.

Outside.

Outside the cave…

This was, at a glance, the entrance to the cave we had first entered.

Even though it was difficult to get one’s bearings in a cave, to think I would end up outside like this…

Standing at the cave entrance, staring blankly at the green forest before me, I turned my head to look back at the cave.

The inside of the cave was still pitch black, not an inch visible.

As if it had swallowed Wagner whole.

Hmm.

Again, even looking back on my life as an adventurer, I had never seen such a strange phenomenon.

I had explored many caves, but this was a first.

He had said it wasn’t an ordinary cave…

Then how was it not ordinary?

People disappearing one after another in such a remote location.

The sweet scent that permeated the air from the moment we entered.

The monsters that vanished at some point.

And the phenomenon of the path suddenly disappearing…

I raised my hand and stroked the outer wall of the cave.

Thrum

The cave wall vibrated slightly.

As if it were shivering.

Shivering like a person…

Shivering like a person…?

“…Could it be…?”

A hypothesis formed in my mind.

A hypothesis that could explain most of the events that had occurred so far.

Even the reason why I was able to come outside.

I looked up and stared into the cave.

The pitch-black abyss rippled as it sucked in the wind.

After staring into it for a while, I moved my legs and stepped back inside.

Thrum

I felt the cave tremble once more.

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“Incoming from the front!”

Wagner raised his shield at the presence he felt ahead.

He couldn’t see the enemy with his own eyes in the pitch-black darkness, but he could tell something was approaching from the vibrations in the ground.

And as he expected, a monster in the form of a giant ostrich lunged at him.

“Cocatries! How many…?”

He peered through the hole in his shield to gain a better view, but couldn’t determine the number.

It was too dark to see.

He could see two or three Cocatries frantically pecking at his shield, but it was impossible to see how many more were behind them.

If only Iyer were there…

“Damn it!”

Wagner cursed as he braced his shield against the onslaught of the Cocatries, holding it firm like a solid wall.

With Iyer, who usually managed the monsters from the front, gone, they were directly exposed to danger.

Furthermore, they had already faced five waves of monsters without Iyer.

Naturally, everyone was tense, leading to noticeable mental and physical exhaustion.

It was time to rest.

Wagner made that judgment.

“We’ll take a break.”

At his words, the party members relaxed slightly and took a breather.

Each member sat down, maintaining some semblance of formation.

As the party leader, Wagner checked on each of them.

Wolf Who Chases the Wind seemed a bit agitated, but not in bad shape.

As a wolf beastman, he had the most stamina among them and seemed to be holding up well in this situation.

Kundt also seemed fine, perhaps due to his experience and age.

He sat quietly, polishing his hammer and calming himself, and Wagner didn’t see any need to intervene.

The problem was…

“…Sigh…”

Guinness was clearly irritated.

She looked like she was about to explode at any moment.

Due to the confined space of the cave, Guinness, positioned at the rear, couldn’t rampage, nor could she break away from the formation, so her stress seemed to be building up.

Considering Guinness’s personality, it was a wonder she hadn’t exploded yet.

It was fortunate she hadn’t run off, claiming she would handle things herself.

Talking to Guinness now would likely be counterproductive.

It wasn’t wise to risk disrupting the current, relatively stable situation with unnecessary provocation.

“…Huh?”

Wolf Who Chases the Wind’s ears perked up as he sat resting.

“What is it?”

“I hear something.”

“What kind of sound?”

“A rustling sound, like sand moving…”

They listened intently, and as Wolf had said, they could faintly hear the sound of sand scraping.

Focusing all their attention on tracing the source of the sound…

They realized it was coming from right beneath their feet.

Fine grains of sand were shifting beneath their feet, moving upwards.

Alarm bells rang in Wagner’s head.

“Everyone, battle positions!”

The fine grains of sand, gathering like a rising tide from the cave floor, gradually formed a massive shape.

A human-like figure, so large that even Wolf Who Chases the Wind had to look up.

Wagner recognized the monster.

“Sandman…!”

A giant sand golem, formed from tiny grains, appeared above them.

Wagner gritted his teeth, thinking that they really couldn’t catch a break.

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[sandman like the metallica song, or the spiderman villain?]